


Children and Soldiers (Ruby Arc)

by Somerandomguy



Series: Children and Soldiers [4]
Category: RWBY
Genre: Contains OC, Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-05-24
Updated: 2015-12-05
Packaged: 2018-04-01 00:06:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 17,967
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3998356
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Somerandomguy/pseuds/Somerandomguy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The battles he started had ended, but the war was far from over. With his mind made and prepared for the worst, Sapphire readies himself and a particular red scythe-wielder for the battles ahead - and for a foe he had long believed dead.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. One Last Job

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to the first chapter of Ruby’s Arc!
> 
> Now, I’d like to address something in the comments, as I’ve seen it mentioned quite a few times: shipping. There are readers who’d like to know who Sapphire would end up with, and all I can say is… um… No comment. J-just read till the end, yeah? *cough cough*

Towers of smoke rose from the remains of buildings, and endless rivers of crimson flowed from the remains of people. The world he knew had changed – become distorted, unrecognizable – and there was nowhere in it he could go.

“Sis?” 

Sapphire barely recognized his own voice as it tore its way out of his throat. It was shaky and uncertain, filled with a sense of dread he could not understand.

Would she be mad at him? He had just killed a group of soldiers with his bare hands. A nine-year-old boy had just taken the lives of several people, none of whom he even recognized. Would anyone ever be able to forgive him?

“Sis?”

He tried again, but his voice was no stronger than before. Staggering as he struggled to hold in his tears, Sapphire headed home, where Cinder surely was.

His body screamed with every step, and blood oozed from the wounds left by the soldiers’ bullets. Yet strangely, the more he walked, the stronger he felt. What was going on?

Then he fell to his knees. Despite feeling stronger than ever, all energy seemed to drain from his legs altogether, forcing him to lose his footing. And the reason was the scenery before him.

If not for him knowing the location, Sapphire would not have recognized the building. Or rather, he would not have recognized the smoldering wreckage that used to be his home.

For a moment, nothing happened. The next instant, the world changed once more.

Shattering the silence with is overwhelming sense of despair, was Sapphire’s scream.

-

“Sapphire? Sapphire!”

The man in question finally woke, and ceased his thrashing about in the process. Bathed in perspiration and gasping for breath, his scarlet eyes eventually resting on-

“S- Blake?” he stammered. “What’s going on?”

“You were going crazy in your sleep,” Blake explained. “Luckily you weren’t that loud, or the whole team would be up.”

“R-right,” Sapphire panted. “Sorry.”

Blake nodded, and kept silent for a bit while he calmed down.

“Want to talk about it?” she asked.

“No, I’m fine,” Sapphire replied. “Thanks.”

Had he hugged her like he had done last time, mistaking her for Cinder, he would probably be compelled to explain. But since he was able to exert some self-control this time, he was spared that awkward moment.

“Alright,” Blake nodded. “But just so you know, your eyes are still red.”

“That… might take a while,” Sapphire confessed. 

“Want to take a walk?” Blake offered. 

“I don’t think that’s unnecessary- I mean necessary,” Sapphire hastily corrected, shaking his head.

Blake narrowed her eyes. He was pale and clearly shaken, but if he passed up such an easy ‘walking the cat’ joke, he was definitely not himself.

“Come on,” Blake declared, dragging him off his feet. “We’re going for a walk.”

-

The night breeze was chilly, and being in a wet shirt did not help. Nonetheless, Sapphire gave in, trailing after Blake like some creepy stalker.

“Feeling better?” Blake asked without turning around.

“Why are we here?” Sapphire countered.

“To clear your head,” Blake replied simply. “And I need your head to be clear for what I’m about to ask.”

“Alright,” Sapphire sighed. He was in no mood for fooling around. “Shoot.”

“What’re you going to do after this?”

He had braced himself for anything, but the question still caught him off-guard. Staring at Blake wordlessly, Sapphire actually sorted through his thoughts for an answer. 

He had failed to kill her. He had defeated Mercury. He had all but killed Adam. There was no reason to stay here – at Beacon – anymore.

“If you’re going to disappear, I’d appreciate if you give us a heads up first,” Blake said. “And we know all about the surgery too; Ozpin told us about the details – including those you left out – while you were unconscious. Ruby was all for it, you know.”

“Not yet,” Sapphire answered at last. “I will be getting that surgery, though, so don’t worry. Just not now.”

“What’re you going to do?” 

“Torchwick,” Sapphire replied. “I’ll help you guys round him up, then I’m done. I’ll disappear after that.”

“What will you do then?” Blake asked. “When it’s all over.”

Sapphire stared at the sky. The clouds overhead drifted by loftily, unaware of and unfazed by his thoughts, hiding the moon behind their mischievous shroud as they passed. It cast a dark shadow over his face, obscuring his expression from anyone except Blake.

_It’d be nice if I’m still alive then._

“Maybe I’ll settle down and find a girlfriend,” he said, flashing her a bitter smile. 

Blake maintained her gaze for a few moments longer, before finally breaking the eye contact. She could tell that Sapphire had no intention of telling her anything serious anymore, and was well aware that pushing it further was no use. 

“Will you be alright?” she asked.

The corners of Sapphire’s mouth twitched.

“Of course,” he replied.

Without waiting for a reply, Sapphire turned and walked away.

-

“Uh… So, what’re we doing?”

In response to Ruby’s question, Sapphire merely smiled.

“Training,” he replied. “Since you’re going to chase down Torchwick – and I know you are; don’t try to lie – you’re gonna need a different type of combat lesson.”

“What’d you mean?” Ruby asked, half comprehensively and half curiously. 

“I’m talking about one-on-one with human opponents,” Sapphire explained. “And on a level where the other side is actively trying to kill you. It’s not something you learn at school, nor is it something they’ll ever teach you.”

“Okay…” Ruby nodded hesitantly. “But why me?”

“That, I will answer after this,” Sapphire replied slowly. “For now, I’ll address some basic problems about your fighting style. Before I go into the actual focus of this lesson, I’ll be sure to give you the appropriate warnings, so don’t worry.”

“Ooookaayyy….” Ruby said slowly. 

“Alright; let’s get started,” Sapphire said, taking a few steps back and pulling out a familiar looking cane. One that happened to belong to Ozpin, in fact.

“Where did you get that?” Ruby asked dubiously. 

“I borrowed it from Ozzy,” Sapphire replied. “No, really; does it look like I can really swipe this from under his nose?”

“Good point,” Ruby conceded. 

“Now, the first thing to know is to observe your opponent,” Sapphire began. “I don’t know why, but you charged right in and tried to restrain me while I was out of control. That was very brave.”

Ruby blushed.

“And at the same time, it was downright stupid.”

Ruby pouted. 

“You need to watch and observe, then react to your opponent,” Sapphire went on. “And there’s another problem: you rely on your Semblance too much. Attack me; I’ll show you what I mean.”

Ruby nodded, and pulled out Crescent Rose. Taking a slightly crouching stance, she charged, running towards Sapphire at a regular speed. Then, when she was inches from Sapphire’s face, she disappeared.

Speed around Sapphire using her super speed, Ruby raised her scythe, aiming to trip Sapphire from behind. However, Sapphire merely squatted down, and blocked the blow far too easily.

Unfazed, Ruby sped up again, leaving a trail of rose petals in her wake. Putting some distance between them and charging in from the side, she slashed down towards Sapphire’s shoulder – and was parried again.

Sapphire had not even as much as turned his head since the battle started; he merely moved the rest of his body to match Ruby’s movements as though he knew every move she would make. Each time he blocked or parried, he simply waited for her to get close, and thwarted her next attack far too easily. Despite having a clear disadvantage in speed, he was barely breaking a sweat.

“Stop!” he declared, and Ruby stopped, panting a little as she tried to catch her breath. “Now, you notice how I didn’t even need to try in order to stop you? That’s because your attacks are too easy to read. You move in very predictable ways despite your otherwise tricky and odd maneuvers. Now, there are two possible reasons I can think of: first, it’s that the movements are not your own; you’re copying someone else’s fighting style, no?”

“Y-yeah,” Ruby admitted. “I was taught by my uncle Qrow…”

“Oh, him,” Sapphire muttered, rolling his eyes. “It’s good that you’re adding your Semblance to your movements, but because the style isn’t yours, you’re unable to flexibly change your approach, and you’re just depending solely on your speed to make up for the repetition. You need to be able to do more than just copy him; otherwise, a really skilled fighter can learn your pattern easily and you’ll die.

“A second reason is that your Semblance is exactly what it looks like,” Sapphire mused. “What I mean is, when you use your Semblance, the world doesn’t slow down; but rather, you just speed up. Is that right?”

“… Yeah, it is,” Ruby confessed. “Everything else moves at the same speed, but I’m just fasted… That’s why I always move the way I do instead of going close – because I can’t react properly to the opponents’ movements while moving at high speeds.”

“Not a surprise,” Sapphire said. “But that’s okay; it’s more than enough for your run-of-the-mill Grimm and goons. That said, it won’t be enough for orange-head, so I’ll train you to wield your scythe like a regular, no super-speed Huntress first. And since I’m fighting with a cane, it should serve as good practice for when you fight Torchwick. Speaking of which… how does he act towards you?”

“Huh?” Ruby took a while to actually register that question. “Oh, um… well, he treats me like I’m a child.”

“I meant how does he treat you that’s different from others.”

“Hmm… He- wait a minute!” Ruby caught on. “What’s that supposed to mean?!”

“Ahem, never mind,” Sapphire hastily corrected. “Hmm… How about this? Hello, Red; isn’t it past your bedtime?”

“You know, I’m actually considering gutting you right now,” Ruby said.

“Interesting threat,” Sapphire mused. “But you might get your chance, since I’m not protected by Aura.”

The words seemed to have no effect at first, but Ruby was not unaffected; for a split second, she fumbled with her weapon, as though it had suddenly put on a few extra pounds of weight. 

“Heavy, isn’t it?” Sapphire asked. Her reaction was only natural; for someone who had never killed before, this was only to be expected. “At the risk of sounding cliché, that’s the weight of a human life on your hands. If you swing, someone can die. There’s no showing off, no looking cool, and no proving anything in there – just violence. That’s what it takes to battle a person to the death, Rose.”

Ruby said nothing, staring at her weapon while lost in her thoughts. Sapphire waited her out, expecting her to complain, drop out of training, or express her displeasure. What she finally said, however, shocked him.

“It must’ve been tough living like that.”

He froze. With just one sentence, Ruby had dealt a blow to his resolve – something almost no one had done before. How did she of all people manage such a feat?

Deep down, he knew. He understood why she was capable of it, and how her sharp insight and unyielding faith came to be: she had an innocence that no one else did. Or rather, no one who battled for a living did.

Because she was earnest, and because she carried herself in a way that reflected her purity, she could see through others easily; in baring her own soul to those around her, she managed to look into theirs. Was it alright for him to ruin that innocence of hers?

A soft, gentle hand rested on his chest, making him flinch. Ruby either did not notice or ignored that reaction, given how she appeared unfazed by it.

“Did it… hurt?” she asked softly. “When you had to…”

Sapphire could feel his heart rate skyrocket. He instinctively recognized that sensation as fear, but could not understand why. He had no reason to be afraid of a girl with inferior combat abilities. He had no reason to fear her, when her only ability was to see right through him-

“I’m sorry you had to go through all that,” Ruby said.

Sapphire involuntarily took a step back.

“You…” he panted. “I… No. No. Let’s carry on with the training.”

“Sure thing,” Ruby beamed. “But before we continue, can I ask a question?”

“You already did, but go ahead.”

“Why me?” Ruby asked. “Surely you could have picked Blake or Weiss or Yang as well, right? Why just me?”

Sapphire looked her in the eye. He did owe her an explanation for all this, but he was curious as to how much she knew. Had she already figured out the reason, or was she really as clueless as she sounded?

“Well, no point hiding it,” he thought aloud. “I chose you because you have a gift that no one on your team does. It’s a talent that’s essential for the battles ahead, but it’s not something you’d be proud of having.

“I’m talking about your uncanny potential to be a killer.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy mother of rewriting. This one chapter took me several tries to get right, and I had to remove some parts to make this final one flow. I wasn’t expecting Ruby’s part to give me this much trouble…
> 
> Anyway, that’s the opening for Ruby’s Arc (not really; the next chapter’s technically a part 2). It’s a little less lighthearted, but hope you like it! See you next chapter!


	2. Bloodlust

A gentle breeze wafted by, rustling grass and leaves in its wake. The lofty, almost rhythmic sound broke the uncomfortable silence, granting them a brief moment of reprieve from the tense mood. 

Sapphire kept his gaze steady, meeting Ruby's silver eyes without turning away. Contrary to what they might believe based on his antics in front of them, Sapphire was being serious right now. And he needed her to know that.

Ruby, on the other hand, was quiet. Downright silent. Whether she was too shocked to speak, or had just failed to understand his words, was a mystery.

"I've seen and put down several killers in my life," he said. "I know what it takes to be or make one. And even the stronger ones lack a talent like yours; you have an unnaturally pure killing intent, or 'bloodlust' if you will. When you battle, you're able to fight the way you do because your body and mind direct their focus to your weapon, not your opponents. While this might explain your obsession with weapons, it's also likely to make you completely disregard your foes. I expect that's why Qrow made you stop at imitating his moves - so that you wouldn't awaken that bloodlust. But there's no suppressing it with an amount like yours.

"I understand it's not a good thing to have," he went on before Ruby could reply. "It's potentially dangerous, both to others and to yourself. I'm going to teach you how to wield your weapon and hone that bloodlust, which will allow you to become a more capable fighter. It'd be pointless against Grimm, but it'll save your hide and more against trained combatants."

He paused, taking a deep breath and exhaling slowly. He waited for Ruby to respond, half hoping his words had sunk in and half hoping she did not get a word. He could not decide which one he preferred. 

"Oh," she said eventually. "Okay."

Sapphire waited. And waited. And waited. But Ruby did not follow up to that comment. 

"That's it?" he asked. "That's all you have to say? 'Oh'?"

"Um, yeah?" Ruby tilted her head, evidently confused. "Was I supposed to say something else?"

Sapphire had been brought up as a soldier and a fighter, but he had the mouth of a seasoned sailor. That, and the vocabulary of a professional translator, made him quite the eloquent gentleman.

"Did you understand what I just said?" he asked, after his tirade died down. "Not the parts in foreign languages," he added hastily.

"Yeah, I have a big bloodlust, right?" Ruby asked innocently. "And you're going to teach me how to control it properly. What's wrong?"

Sapphire was not sure if she was messing around with him. Maybe she acted unconcerned on purpose.

"And you're not worried?" he asked. "Not scared, not angry, not anything? For all you know I could be tricking you! Or I could fail and you'll become a murderous psychopath! What if-"

"Sapphire," Ruby said worriedly. "Why are you so worked up?"

"Because I-" Sapphire hastily stopped himself again. Telling her he had no time left was not going to do anyone any good. "Because you don't understand the situation at hand! What if you lose control? What if you end up killing everyone, from Yang, to Weiss, to Blake, to Scarlatina, to-"

"Don't," Ruby cut across him sharply, a firm look suddenly appearing in her eyes. Had it been there all along? "Don't talk about yourself like that. I have faith in you, so don't short change yourself. Okay?" 

Sapphire had no idea how to respond anymore. Gawking at the younger girl with an expression he probably could not define even if he saw it in the mirror, the former mercenary just went brain dead.

"Okay, let's get back to training," Ruby said, twirling Crescent Rose in her hands. "We don't have all day, you know?"

Intentional or not, Ruby would forever remember the expression on Sapphire's face as she said that.

-

Sapphire visibly winced with every step, his face wearing a disgruntled look. Ruby was a quick learner, and that was a good thing. He did not mind so much having countless bruises and cuts all over his body, but it was probably a mistake to teach her dirty tricks like kicking men in between the legs (he had a trick for women too, but had chosen not to teach her for fear of having his head caved in by a certain blonde). Unfortunately, he had to learn said mistake the hard way. Or, specifically, the physical way.

For a girl two years younger than her peers and over a head shorter than he was, Ruby could kick hard.

"Um... Er... Sapphire?" Ruby asked timidly. She was either scared of him bearing a grudge, or of the possible damage she had done, or was still in shock from seeing a trained soldier and former mercenary roll on the ground clutching his crotch. Or possibly all three.

"Yes?" Sapphire answered curtly. He was walking a little funny, but Ruby had not yet the heart to point that out.

"Are you..." Ruby paused to consider her options. 'Angry' would probably make him angry for real, and 'still in pain' was a given. And she did not have the courage nor stupidity to go with 'still a man'. "... gonna be alright?"

Sapphire gave her a withering stare.

"Let's go through that last round of sparring we had," he said, valiantly trying to ignore the pain and instead focusing on his duty as an instructor. "I think it'd be better if you finished with a diagonal slash instead of going for the reverse counter; that move's made for defense instead of pressurizing your opponent, not to mention it ruins your balance considering your center of gravity was high at that point. You can also follow up with the backhand/roundhouse swing if you're confident in your chances."

"Huh?" Ruby asked.

"Basically," Sapphire said, feeling an incoming wave of terrible migraine. "You go... Er... 'Whoosh', then 'Hiyah' instead of 'Hmph'."

It was a ridiculous and downright comical display, and even Sapphire had trouble understanding what he had just said. Ruby, however, slammed a fist onto her open palm as her eyes lit up.

"Oh~" she said, with the expression and tone of someone who had just seen the light.

Sapphire wanted to bang his head against the wall. It took a lot of effort to not just pick up the smaller girl and fling her out a nearby window. The corridors were empty. No one would ever know.

"You know, Rose," he said, sighing heavily enough to empty out his lungs. "Teaching you is a fu-"

He said a swear word without thinking. In English to boot.

"-ing tedious chore," he finished.

"Um... What does fu-" Ruby repeated the unfamiliar word. "-ing mean?"

Sapphire froze.

"Uh..." he mumbled, sweating buckets as he felt the footsteps of Death approach. Had this not been real life but a show on television, there would probably have been a 'beep' noise to censor the profanities. Or at least they'd get to do another take. But this was, sadly, reality. "Er... Um... T-that is, er... It means... 'really'. Yeah. It means 'really'."

Ruby nodded, seemingly satisfied with having her question answered as she opened the door to Team RWBY's room. Fully aware that he had nowhere to run, and that Ozpin would be more than happy to deny him a helicarrier for escape, Sapphire Fall steeled his resolve like a true man and walked in after her.

The rest of the team were acting normal (for now), going about their everyday assignments while blissfully unaware of Sapphire's grave sin. Yang, the woman who would become a murderer responsible for the death of an exchange student (or whatever he was), was slumped over her desk grumbling about the homework she was forced to do.

"Welcome back," she grumbled, looking up as they walked in. Sapphire briefly wondered how long it would take for him to hijack a helicarrier. In an unrelated thought, he wondered how many limbs he could lose before actually dying from the shock. He figured three. Not a good number. "How was training? I'm guessing Sapphire didn't make the _cut_."

Weiss and Blake, from their respective desks, groaned. Zwei whined from under Weiss's bed. Sapphire was too busy looking from the door to the window and back to respond. Ruby did not get the pun.

"It went well," she replied happily. "We had a fu-"

She - that is, Ruby Rose - said the forbidden word. And there was no sound effect to censor it.

"-ing good time!" she finished, positively beaming.

If there were moments so perfectly silent that one could literally hear their own heartbeat, this would have been one of them.

Then, three things happened at once. Blake, with her eyes and mouth wide open, let her pen slip out of her rigid fingers. Weiss, channeling Ruby and moving faster than the eye could see, charged over to her team leader and grabbed her firmly by the shoulders. Yang-

"WHAT DID YOU TEACH MY SISTER YOU PUNK?!"

-had Sapphire by the throat and against a wall faster than the narrative could recount.

"I'LL TEAR YOUR THROAT OUT!" she roared, very likely with genuine intent to hurt him. Possibly.

"Ruby Rose," Weiss said, very seriously. "Forget that word. Now."

"B-but-" Ruby protested.

"Forget. That. Word." Weiss enforced. "NOW."

"Eeep! Y-yes ma'am!" Ruby squeaked.

"N-now look here, Yang," Sapphire said. "I know what it looks like, but-"

"Children," Goodwitch's frustrated voice said as the woman approached. "For crying out loud, don't make so much- Oh," she corrected herself as she saw what was happening. Particularly with Yang grabbing Sapphire by the collar of his shirt. "Please be quieter in your activities, and be sure to clean up properly afterwards."

And with that, she walked off, unconcerned about the inevitable homicide that would be taking place.

"Aren't you supposed to be a teacher?!" Sapphire exclaimed. That anger was short-lived, possibly due to the huge ball of flame and rage right in his face. "Yang... I... You... I..."

He let out a sigh, and gave up resisting as his hands fell limply to the sides.

 

"Make it painless, please," he said.

The malicious smirk on Yang's face told him that she had heard him loud and clear.

And then she proceeded to hear him louder and clearer.

-

Patrick Dynes was a trained fighter. As a mercenary, he had been trained to adapt and react accordingly to various scenarios. This was not one of them.

"If you don't shut up, I'm gonna gut you," Sapphire said coldly. 

"I heard you screamed like a girl," Pat panted, wiping tears from his eyes. He had not laughed that hard since someone set off a firecracker in the toilet bowl while Mercury was still taking dump. "No, scratch that; I _heard_ you scream like a girl."

"Thanks for your help," Sapphire said, his words dripping with sarcasm. "You were such a reliable backup."

"I just couldn't find the right opening; the battle was too intense and I couldn't keep up," Pat deadpanned. His tone was so monotonous even a kid reading off a script could have done a better job.

"You were out of action for a few years," Sapphire reminded him. "I can make you suffer so badly you'd beg to die."

"And whose fault do you think it is that I'm back in this business?" Pat countered. "Sorry, that was going a bit too far. I have some news."

"Surprise me," Sapphire said, sitting down on the bench.

"She's good, which we expected," Pat reported. "The bug I planted got found and was crushed a mere five hours after it was set. We're looking at ex-colleague level level here."

"Think they work for our former bosses?" Sapphire asked.

"Unlikely," Pat replied, shaking his head. "The organization wouldn't make people go undercover for such long periods of time. Her actions seem a little too whimsical for someone working for someone else, too. It'll be safe to assume that she answers to no one."

"I'd say we've at least crippled their forces somewhat," Sapphire said. "Now that Adam's dead, I doubt the White Fang would support her anymore. So we're looking at just Torchwick and his goons."

"He... Yeah," Pat replied, stammering a little. "Yeah, he's dead. Torchwick isn't all that competent by himself, but he has a lot of connections, including even our organization. We should get rid of the woman first."

"It comes down to a one-on-one, huh," Sapphire sighed. Pat knew about his condition worsening, so he skipped the elaboration. "I need you on standby for her partner, and of course anyone else who might be in here with her."

"Understood," Pat replied. "When do you want to get the girl?"

Sapphire considered that for a moment. He had not lost his ability to kill, so there was no need to waste time to get it back. His skills had not waned, and his injuries were inconsequential. He was combat ready, and he could strike whenever. His weapons had been fixed, and his broken right hand was almost completely healed. There were no issues, but for some reason Sapphire still hesitated. 

"Give me a week," he said at last.


	3. Who are you

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello and welcome to chapter 3! To those who were looking forward to Walk Among the Beasts and White Cat, Black Cat, I’m sorry but they are currently on hiatus. With regards to the RWBY-based stories, I’d like to focus on this one first, largely because this story’s been around the longest and has yet to be wrapped up. Not to mention the sequel. I hope you understand, and thank you for your support!

The world was burning.

Unrelenting heat and pain swallowed her, drowning her in suffering so terrible she wished to die. Even without moving, her body was tearing itself apart, screaming and begging to escape from this nightmare. But there was no escape. 

Crying out with every movement, she clawed desperately at the rubble, pushing it aside as she pleaded internally. She did not care if her fingers would snap from the effort; she had to find him.

She feebly pried through the rubble, calling his name. _Screaming_ his name. But not reply came. Not even a hand showed up in the remains of that wreckage.

“Please, no…” she gasped, her tough act quickly reduced to a broken mess. “Please… Please… Don’t leave me alone…”

But no one answered those pleas. No one answered the prayers of a little girl, lost in the smoldering graveyard that was the battlefield. Broken by war and cast aside by the world, Cinder Fall cried.

The world was burning, and all she could do was to let it burn to the ground.

-

“Cinder, is something the matter?” 

Raising an eyebrow ever so slightly at Emerald’s question, Cinder gave a look of mild interest.

“Nothing’s the matter, Emerald,” she replied blithely. “What makes you ask me that?”

“You were… mumbling in your sleep,” Emerald admitted. “You were saying ‘Sapphire’ over and over.”

Cinder, for all her composure, froze. Her expression was stony, and all of a sudden the mood felt very grim.

“You don’t need to worry about a thing,” she said at last. “I just wanted to remind myself of who I had to kill, that’s all.”

Emerald did not seem very convinced by that answer, but she knew better than to press Cinder for more answers. When it came to the woman known as Cinder Fall, she either told you what you needed to know or you shut up about it. That was all.

Hidden behind a nearby pillar, Sapphire tapped his earbud.

“Status check,” he said. 

“As of zero-eight-twenty-five, all lights are green,” Pat replied. “Party favors warmed up and ready to celebrate.”

“And our guests?”

“Invitation sent and received,” Pat said. “Scheduled dinner date for two is in order.”

“Lovely,” Sapphire smirked. “Time to pick out a suit and be ready to dance. I trust you have the spotlights?”

“Trained on you and your partner,” Pat declared. “Dance as fervently as you’d like.”

“Marvelous,” Sapphire replied. “Reservation open in fourteen. Let’s get ready to dazzle.”

-

Cinder strode casually into the clearing, stepping out of the shadows cast by the trees. She knew that this was the forest new students were unceremoniously vaulted into during initiation, and that rather decent Grimm dwelled here. They posed no challenge to her, so he was either severely underestimating her or he had chosen this place just for its location. 

“How romantic,” she said teasingly.

“I’m a regular Casanova, y’know?” Sapphire replied, getting up from his sitting position.

“I see you chose not to prepare fireworks,” Cinder mused. “That’s rather bold of you.”

“Oh yeah, I’m a gentleman too,” Sapphire added. “Cheap tricks don’t quite fly with me.”

That was partially true; against ‘Cinder’, who had taught him the hard way that her control over Dust was many times his superior, Sapphire could not rely on attacks or defense centered around Dust. That included the hidden shotgun ammunition trick he had pulled against Adam. Dirty tricks were still very much an option; just none which she could sense.

“Besides,” he went on, deploying Daybreak and Duskfall in their bladed forms. “The location is highly flammable, so too much Dust might be… inappropriate. And how about you take off that mask? That pretty face should be shown more, no?”

“As tempting as that might sound,” Cinder said, mirth playing on her tone as she touched her mask. “I think I’ll pass. I should not let ruffians see a lady’s face without her ‘makeup’.”

“Oh, but we’re alone,” Sapphire informed. He could not very well get support from Ozpin if he intended to murder her. This was personal. Backup from Pat was another thing altogether though. “A masquerade party could be fun too, but-”

An elegant sword sliced through the air, disintegrating into countless shards as they met Daybreak’s parry. Closing the distance swiftly, Cinder swung her empty hands – and a pair of swords manifested out of nowhere.

“Feisty,” Sapphire said, stepping back to avoid her charge. I like that.”

Kicking off hard the moment he landed, Sapphire stabbed towards her head. Before the tip could make contact, it slammed into a wall of solid crystal, repelling him with ease.

Sweeping her feet under her shield, Cinder tripped Sapphire, following through with the circular motion and throwing her sword. A sharp report sounded, and the sword shattered mid-flight.

Twisting around and pushing himself back to his feet, Sapphire unleashed a series of gunfire from Lifesaver’s mounted guns. Punching into the hovering shield relentlessly, the small bullets managed to tear it apart in a few seconds flat.

“Neutral,” Sapphire commanded, kicking out a Dust Grenade into Cinder’s face.

In one fluid somersault, Cinder kicked the grenade into the air, where it exploded violently with a bright orange light. Creating a shield to protect herself from the falling pellets, she crushed her sword and instantly made another.

But Sapphire kept his distance. Firing an arrow from Daybreak’s crossbow, he reached for and grabbed a pistol from Lifesaver with his free hand. He did not even need to look to know that Cinder would dodge the arrow, so he fired a bullet to the side-

He froze. The bullet soared through the air and, hitting nothing, merely flew into the shadows of the forest. Its intended target, who was supposed to have dodged to the sides, had not budged. 

Gripping the small arrow in her hand, Cinder cut the wire attached to it and threw it onto the ground. Giving Sapphire a coquettish smirk, she readied her blades.

“Interesting tricks,” she said. “But that’s enough for a warmup, don’t you think?”

“True enough,” Sapphire nodded. “So let’s end this.”

Cinder readied herself to charge again, but her feet did not carry her forward. At that moment, a sharp pain coursed through her midsection, causing a violent spray of vermillion to erupt across the grass.

“What; you thought I’d fight you head-on?” Sapphire mocked, walking up to her and kicking her into a nearby tree. “I’m here to kill you, not to spar with you like some combat nerd.”

Cinder, clutching her wound and grimacing from the pain, shot him a glare. She had not been foolish enough to think that he would not resort to such tricks, but she had not been expecting a sniper of all things.

“Oh yeah, the bullet pierces Aura,” he added, clearly enjoying her suffering. “Bet it hurts like a bitch now.”

“So that’s how it is…?” Cinder panted. “You won’t even give me a proper battle, and now you put me down like some dog?”

“If I’m going to put you down like a dog,” Sapphire said, pointing his pistol at her head. “I don’t need to give you a proper battle, now do I?”

Cinder smiled, but she was seething with rage inside. She had no pride as a warrior, and she was no Huntress, but she too had a reason to live. She had to take revenge on the world, she had to avenge Sapphire’s death, and now she was going to die like this? 

Not only did she have the rug pulled from under her, she was going to get killed by a guy who went by his name just to spite her. There was no army, and there was no life-or-death battle; there were just two fighters who had taken her out like she was some small fry.

Was she going to die like this?

“Goodbye, bitch,” Sapphire said, his index finger tightening on the trigger. But he did not pull that trigger.

He froze. He was hesitating. He would have understood if it was some strange trick, or if this woman had somehow managed to freeze him in place. However, he had no Dust lining his clothing, and she was not doing anything to him. She was just there, panting and dying, and he had the gun. Just one simple action, and he could end this pathetic wretch pretending to be Cinder. So why could he not do it?

He was a killer. He was a murderer. He had no compassion nor morals to speak of. He had put down countless foes in the past, none of which he had any emotional attachment to. Why was it that this woman, whom he hated with a passion, made him hesitate?

_You’re not a killer._

“What’re you doing, jackass?” Pat scolded over his earbud. “Don’t go soft on me now, you-”

Sounds of a scuffle interrupted his words, and the line went dead. Not that it mattered, since Cinder had pounced at that moment, seizing Sapphire’s gun and pushing him down onto the ground in the process. Twisting the gun from his grip, Cinder pointed it at his arms and pulled the trigger.

Sharp reports echoed through the night, followed swiftly by Sapphire’s screams. Daybreak and Duskfall lay broken on the ground, useless like scrap metal, but that was not the problem; the problem was that Cinder had destroyed them by shooting through his arms.

“Bet it hurts like a bitch now,” she smirked, pressing the heated barrel against Sapphire’s forehead. 

Sapphire said nothing. His brain was simply not functioning properly enough for him to say anything at this point. When he finally opened his mouth, however, all that came out was one simple sentence.

“Kill me.”

“Oh, but of course,” Cinder said, a malicious smile tugging at her lips. “With pleasure, too. But first, I need you to answer my question.”

Resting her free palm on his cheek, Cinder leaned in. Her burning desire to kill him right now was flaring brightly, but above all else, she had to ask him that one question:

“Who are you?” she spat. “Answer me honestly.”

Sapphire would dearly have loved to shut up, or just flat-out lie to her face, but for some reason, he could not. There was a strong sense of compulsion to answer her question, to obey her words like they were his only motivations in life. It was a mysterious, bewitching sensation.

“I’m Sapphire,” he croaked. “Sapphire Fall.”

Another gunshot. Sapphire yelled and struggled against the pain, but with Cinder holding him down and at gunpoint, there was no escape. He could already feel his arms going numb, as supposedly warm blood pooled around his wounds.

“Answer me truthfully,” Cinder reinforced, moving the gun back to his forehead. “What’s your name?”

“S-Sapphire,” Sapphire replied. “I said I’m Sapphire Fall.”

Cinder’s eyes widened in shock. No one had managed to lie to her whenever she did that, and no one had denied her of what she wanted. It was foolproof, and it was her most prized trump card. And yet, the nameless mercenary at her mercy now had beaten it somehow. 

It was impossible. There was no one alive who could resist that ability of hers, especially when it worked so well the last time. He could not have stopped it. But if he had not indeed found a way to resist, then he would be telling the truth. That would mean…

“No,” Cinder gasped, standing back up and staggering away. “No, it can’t be… It can’t… be…”

His consciousness fading, Sapphire watched her go in silence. He may not have had the power to say anything at that moment, but even if he did, he probably would have remained silent. After all, what was there to say to a situation like that?

“Dammit,” he muttered.

Before he could even make sense of what just transpired, Sapphire felt the darkness take over his mind, pulling him into a peaceful silence.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the short fight, but I figured Sapphire wouldn’t actually fight her head-on and honestly. That said, I didn’t expect the physical torture to go this far… Um… Yeah.


	4. Answers and Lies

He rested the coffee mug on the table without taking a sip. For someone supposedly obsessed with coffee (not as much as Bartholomew, but close enough), it was unthinkable for him to just set it down like that. Glynda would have taken a picture.

Alas, Glynda was not the one in the room with him.

“To what do I owe the pleasure?” he asked, looking through some documents. “If you’d like to kill me, you’ll have to join the queue.”

“Spare me the jokes,” Cinder spat. 

“Of course,” Ozpin said pleasantly, finally turning to face her. “No mask? I’d have expected you to conceal your identity…”

“Hardly a point in that, seeing as you already know,” Cinder replied. “What I’m interested in, is _how much_ you know.”

“I assure you I haven’t the slightest clue what you’re talking about,” Ozpin said. “I do not know you beyond your transcripts, which I presume to be fake.”

“Do you really think such lies would work now?” Cinder asked furiously. “You sent that kid after me and you think you can still act all innocent about it?”

“You’re referring to Sapphire,” Ozpin stated. It was not a question; after all, Sapphire was the only person actively keeping an eye on her, and was the only person who could have done something that resulted in this confrontation. 

“Don’t you dare call him by that name,” Cinder snapped. 

Ozpin raised an eyebrow. Sapphire had clearly done something under his nose, and that ‘something’ had been so effective the woman in front of her blew her cover just to talk to him. But what?

Cinder, on the other hand, harbored no confusion. Ozpin may not look it, but he was surely enjoying her rage right now. He knew who she was, and above all he knew about her past. Not even Emerald knew that, so there was no way he of all people could. 

“I seem to be saying all the wrong things,” Ozpin said pleasantly. “So I shall let you hold the initiative in this conversation instead. By all means, ask anything you want.”

Cinder inhaled deeply to calm her nerves. There was no point in being the only one all worked up, especially when her opponent was him. 

“How did you find out about my past?” she asked. “And spare me your lies; I have my subordinates ready to kill a few students at a moment’s notice.”

“I have no intention of lying to you,” Ozpin said, his expression getting more serious at the mention of his students. “I do not know who you are, nor do I know anything about your past. I do not know what Sapphire has-”

He paused. She had reacted strongly to Sapphire’s name, and believed that he knew of her past because he had sent him after her. It was a stretch to make that connection, but if he had to make a guess…

“You’re his sister,” he said at last.

Cinder narrowed her eyes.

“He’s not my brother,” she seethed.

Ozpin was stunned. Not many people or things could render him speechless, and this was one of the rare instances where he could not find the words to say.

“We need to talk,” he said, his gaze firm and serious.

“Yes, we do,” Cinder replied.

-

Sapphire woke up, and instantly wished he had not. Not only was the pain unbearable, the fact that there were angry-looking girls by the side of his bed was worrying. He considered diving out the window, but discovered that his body wasn’t listening to his orders. Of all the times for it to betray him, it just had to be now.

“Uh… Sup?” he asked.

“Are those your last words?” Blake asked. 

“What’s with the mood?” he asked, acting as if nothing was wrong. “I fall down a flight of stairs and I get treated like some criminal?”

“You fell down the stairs and get holes blasted into you?” Weiss questioned, her tone icy. He would have made a joke about it, had it not been for the sharp rapier by her side.

“There were spears on the floor,” Sapphire lied. Even he was surprised how he was able to keep a straight face as he said it. “This school has bad discipline if students can just leave their weapons all over the place.”

“Saph, I was born at night,” Yang sighed. “But I wasn’t born _last_ night. Were you really hoping to fool us with that?”

“Hey, it was worth a shot,” Sapphire replied. 

“So… what exactly happened?” Ruby asked, raising an eyebrow. She seemed to be taking the fact that he had been skewered pretty well for some reason. Maybe his training had made her a lot more used to seeing injuries.

“Beacon’s been infiltrated,” Sapphire answered with a sigh. “I got into a fight with the perpetrator and lost. Before you say anything, I won’t tell you anything beyond that, so you can forget about joining in.”

“Why not?” Weiss demanded. “After all that’s happened, are you still planning to treat us like-”

“It’s not that,” Sapphire cut across her. “It’s just that something… something’s wrong with this one. I need to figure things out by myself.”

He said nothing else, and instead let his mind wander to the events of last night. She had been intent on killing him, just as he had wanted to take her life, but neither died. He had stopped himself from killing her – that was his own fault for being soft – but she did not deal the finishing blow either. He could not make heads or tails of the situation, and he found himself thinking about her expression when he had said his name.

She knew him, and he had affected her life in some way. Was she a survivor from the tragedies he had caused, a surviving member of the families he had murdered? But if that was so, she should have been more than willing to kill him right then and there. 

He recalled Scarlatina’s words of gratitude. There were people he had saved in his life, and people who lived because of the blood he spilled. Sapphire harbored no illusions of being a hero, but for someone to look at him, know who he was, and not kill him was… strange.

 _Guess it’s time to go,_ he thought.

His identity had been fully exposed, and he had failed in his mission. He had lost the ability to kill, and he was no longer an asset to Ozpin. If this had been the organization, he would be gone and buried without a trace. There was already no way for him to show his face around here.

“Rose,” he said, a faint trace of regret lacing his tone. “Meet me at the usual place in an hour. There’s something I need to teach you.”

“But you-”

“Just do it,” he said firmly. “Please.”

-

Slumped against a tree trunk, Sapphire swore under his breath. Barging out of the nurse’s office had been bad enough, but convincing the rest of team RWBY had been the worst. He had no idea women could be that annoying when it came to nagging; Weiss in particular had talked his ear off. Blake just stood there with a dangerous aura while Yang cracked her knuckles. If it was not for his bandages, Sapphire suspected the blonde might not have held back.

“Pat, come in,” he said, inserting his earbud into his ear and calling out. Rose had yet to arrive, but it was actually more convenient that way. “Still alive?”

“No,” Pat’s voice replied irritably. “I’m actually dead, and I’m replying to you from Hell.”

“Oh no,” Sapphire deadpanned. “Where are you now?”

“Still on the roof,” Pat replied. “My wounds aren’t serious. Can’t say the same for the assailant, though. Some dark-skinned chick with green hair and red eyes. Sound familiar?”

“That one with the Bitch,” Sapphire recalled. “You killed her?”

“She got away,” Pat sighed. “She got the first hit in, and it was a good one.”

“You’re pathetic.”

“I don’t want to hear that from you,” Pat snapped. “Why didn’t you finish her off?”

Sapphire shut up at that question. He could hardly tell him ‘I’ve gotten soft’ or ‘I just couldn’t; shut up’. Instead, he went for the next best option: escape.

“My sparring partner’s here,” he lied. “I gotta go.”

“Why’re you-”

But he had already pulled the earbud out of his ear. Sitting there and letting the wind howl in his ear, jeering at him for his cowardice. He was not proud of the way he had dealt with the situation, be it now or last night, but he was far too confused to care. 

“Sapphire?” 

Looking up at the one last job he had left in this dump, Sapphire sighed. If there was one thing he would not miss about this place, it would be this girl and the rest of her bumbling team of idiots. At least, that was what he tried to think.

“Right, let’s begin,” he said. “Today I’m going to actually let you use your Semblance.”

“Finally,” Ruby muttered, rolling her eyes.

“Don’t be so excited,” Sapphire said. “You’re not going to be using it passively. Your Semblance is perfect for a one-hit kill, so today I want you to practice the moves I thought you, then use your Semblance in the middle of your blows to catch your foes off-guard. Got it?”

“Okay…” Ruby replied slowly. “So when do I use it?”

“I’ll leave that to you,” Sapphire shrugged. “The whole point is your opponent doesn’t expect the sudden burst of speed, so you can cut their heads off in one hit. Fight your opponent normally and then unleash your Semblance for the finishing blow. Simple, no?”

“I guess,” Ruby nodded. “I’ll give it a try. But Sapphire?”

“What?”

“Are you in a bad mood or something?” she asked. “You seem a little… agitated.”

“I’m fine,” Sapphire replied. “Let’s just start the practice. I won’t be using my weapons, but if it’s just going through the motions…”

“Are you sure? You seem-”

“I said I’m _fine_!” Sapphire snapped. “Just… Let’s just start already.”

-

Sapphire slammed a fist into the wall and let it bleed. He had not felt this frustrated in years, and understood that with him becoming soft, he had lost the cool head to ignore these problems with. But that was no reason to take it out on Ruby. The girl was just a kid, and a sharp one at that. She had meant well, and he had lashed out at her good intentions. What was he doing?

 _How wonderful,_ he thought. _Now I have to go apologize._

… was what he intended to do, but he never did get that chance.

“Hello.”

Turning sharply towards the source of the voice, Sapphire assumed a defensive stance. He did not have his weapons with him, so his own skills would have to do. Though against the owner of that familiar voice, he was not sure if it would suffice.

“So does this mean you want a round two?” he asked, keeping an eye on the silhouette of Cinder against the moonlight. “I can’t say I dislike women who-”

But he did not finish. Reaching out from the darkness and resting against his cheek gently, was a single woman’s hand. Slender fingers caressed his skin, holding him in place with its icy touch.

“How’s this for a sneak attack?” Cinder whispered from behind him, as the silhouette – a figure made of Dust – crumbled away. “I’ll have you listen to my request now… I trust you have no objections?”

“Who in their right mind would-” Sapphire began, but Cinder spun him around and cut off the rest of his sentence. Their eyes met, with her hand still on his face, and that was all she needed to shut him up.

“From now on, I’m your sister,” she declared. “You know me to be Cinder Fall, and won’t harbor any doubts about my identity. Think you can do that?”

Unknown to both of them, the Fall siblings’ first true reunion had happened then. Driven by doubt and hostility, their reunion was built on nothing but a lie.

 _If you want to play him so much, I’ll let you,_ Cinder mocked in her head. _Be my pawn until your last breath, ‘Sapphire’._

“… Of course,” Sapphire replied flatly.


	5. Goodbyes, and...

She watched the other children walk by with radiant smiles on their faces. In one hand, they would hold their father’s hand, and in the other, their mother’s. It may not have looked like much, but it was a significant thing to her. 

For such a long time, all she had was her father. She could only ever hold her father’s hand, while the other remained empty. She could not recall her mother’s warmth, and she could hardly even recall her face anymore.

“So you were here this whole time.”

She flinched. She recognized that voice, and knew its owner meant her no harm, but she could not help but want to scurry away. She wanted to be alone right now, and having someone here tended to prevent her from doing that.

“What’re you looking at?” Yang asked, sitting down next to her.

“Nothing,” Ruby mumbled, refusing to meet her eyes.

“Hmm…” Yang’s tone told her quite plainly that she did not believe her. “Lemme guess. You were getting all jealous of other kids and their moms?”

“H-how did you-” Ruby began. “I-I mean, no I’m not.”

“Nice try, Ruby,” Yang chuckled, grabbing her around the waist and lifting her off her feet. “But too bad for you, I can read minds.”

“No you can’t! And put me down!” Ruby whined. “Yaaaang!”

“Magic word?”

“Right now!” 

“Nope!”

It took another three minutes of spinning and wrestling before Ruby finally gave up and said the magic word (unlike most kids who said ‘please’, she had to say ‘uncle’). Satisfied with yet another victory, Yang Xiao Long set down her sister and let Ruby pretend to look cross with her. Or at least she thought it was pretend.

“What’s wrong, Ruby?” she asked. “You didn’t like playing with your big sis?” 

“You were bullying me!” Ruby pouted, puffing out her cheeks. “I told you to stop but you just wouldn’t stop!”

“Well, it was fun,” Yang reasoned. “You don’t like to have fun?”

“I do, but not like that!” Ruby replied. “Normal kids have tea parties and play with their stuffed animals, Yang! You’re the only one who acts like a boy!”

“Psh, who needs those things?” Yang scoffed. “You’ll grow out of them too someday, Ruby. One of these days you’ll be aiming to be a Huntress and start training your body too. Mark my words!”

“No I won’t!” Ruby replied. “I don’t want to be a Huntress! They’re violent and… And muscular and… and…”

“And?”

“… And they don’t come back,” Ruby muttered. “They never come back.”

“Ruby, you’re such a little wuss,” Yang said, lifting her petite sister off her feet again. Ignoring Ruby’s squeaks of protest, Yang tightened her hug, pulling her close against her chest. “You’re still thinking of things like that?”

“W-what do you mean?” Ruby asked, forgetting to look cross. “I-I haven’t been thinking of this for that long… I-I… um, that is… um…”

“Did I mention you’re a terrible liar?” Yang asked back. “And that you talk in your sleep?”

Ruby went silent. She could feel a hot blush rising in her cheeks, causing her to bury her face in Yang’s chest to hide her embarrassment. 

“… So you’ve been listening since we started sleeping in the same room?” she asked meekly.

“Oh, is that how long you’ve been doing it for?” Yang asked. Chuckling at the startled expression on Ruby’s face, she added, “See, Ruby, _this_ is how you lie.”

She actually had to pretend it hurt when Ruby rammed her tiny fists against her chest. 

“Tell you what, Ruby,” she said after her sister finally stopped hitting her. “One of these days, when Uncle Qrow is in a good mood, I’ll try to convince him to teach you how to fight. Not now, but when you’re a little older, okay?”

“I-I don’t wanna be a Huntress,” Ruby whined.

“I’ve seen your looks of awe when you read about them, kiddo,” Yang said, flicking her forehead. “And besides, if you become stronger, you can go find Summer you know?”

Ruby flinched. Her father tended not to say her name if she could help it, so Summer was hardly ever mentioned around the household. Even if she did think about her mother, Ruby had never actually said her name out loud. To hear it spoken like that was a shock, especially when the speaker was Yang.

“So, let’s become Huntresses together, Ruby,” Yang said, stroking her hair. “Until then, you’ll have to content with me, alright?”

Wordlessly, Ruby nodded. Summer was not around, and she had no idea when she would be back. But, for the time being, she had someone else to hold her hand.

“Okay,” she whispered.

-

“Ruby Rose,” Ozpin called out. “A moment, if you will.”

Ruby, casting her teammates some bewildered looked and getting similar looks in response, followed Ozpin away from the group. In the distance, the new transfer student – Sapphire, as she was told – was beating up a bunch of Ursi without breaking a sweat. 

“This is something I believe I should tell you,” Ozpin began. “However, I’d like for you to keep this to yourself; you are the leader, so I figured you have the right to this information.”

“S-sure,” Ruby said nervously.

“Sapphire is someone with severe trust issues,” Ozpin told her. “He grew up without his parents most of the time, and all he had was his sister. I know nothing about his family history beyond that, but I do know that in one of the many wars during his childhood, he lost his sister and was left alone.”

Ruby opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out. She just stared at her headmaster, unsure of whether or not she wanted him to continue.

“I understand that you and Miss Xiao Long are on good terms as siblings,” Ozpin went on. “And that you are closely bonded as family. I imagine you would find it most distressing should she be hurt in any way.”

“Well, yeah,” Ruby replied. “I’ve known Yang all my life, and she’s family regardless of what anyone says. I wouldn’t want to see her hurt, so I’m glad she’s tough but… I don’t know…”

“You do not have to understand his pain,” Ozpin assured her. “If you come to understand everything that he is, you will become Sapphire. You do not need to think of losing those you love; rather than being prepared for it, I am sure you would rather not experience it at all, no?”

Ruby nodded furiously.

“What you do need to understand, however,” Ozpin said. “Is his resolve. When the time comes, you might have to clash with him, and when that happens, your resolve must be able to match his.”

“His… resolve?”

“Indeed,” Ozpin nodded. “While you do not need to feel his pain, you cannot change him should you not know why he swings his blade. If you can know the weight of his weapons, you can match them and defeat him.”

“Why would I have to defeat him?” Ruby asked. “Isn’t he here as a transfer student? Can’t we just be friends or something?”

“Of course,” Ozpin chuckled. “However, there are things which can only be learned through loss, and this may very well be one of them. I shall leave him in your hands, so all the best.”

With that, the enigmatic man left, a faint smile tugging at his lips.

-

Sapphire leaned against a wall, observing the room he was in. The room itself was nothing worth noting, being just a normal dorm room for students, but its occupants were another matter altogether.

Seated on a chair and throwing him dirty looks every now and then was a girl with dark skin and green hair. There was not much Sapphire could say about her, except for maybe the sheer amount of hostility rolling off her in waves. Had he done something to her to make her mad?

In the other half of the room stood his sister. Looking out the window and lost in thought, Cinder either did not notice or did not care about the dangerous vibe building up in the room. She just stared out the window without making a sound.

There were more than a few million things he had to ask. There were too many things he had to say. The same should have applied to his sister as well, so why was it that she seemed so unconcerned about it all?

“Emerald,” she said at last, turning to the girl. “We might be moving away from this place soon. I need you to secure our escape route.”

“Understood,” Emerald replied. “I’ll go immediately. But Cinder-”

“It’s okay,” Cinder assured her, cutting her off abruptly. “I’ll be fine. Don’t worry about me.”

Reluctantly, the girl called Emerald left the room, making sure to bump into Sapphire on her way out. As the door shut after her, Sapphire finally walked away from the wall and towards his sister.

“Er… sis,” he began.

“What is it?” Cinder asked coldly. She sounded far too different from what he remembered, but it was definitely her. 

“What… happened to you?” Sapphire managed. “I always thought you were dead, but-”

“Sapphire,” Cinder said, a look of pure disgust on her face. “We’re in the middle of a mission. Stay focused.”

“I know that,” Sapphire replied. “It won’t affect my abilities. But I need answers, sis! I spent most of my life believing you were dead! I became… I became like _this_! It’s all because I thought you were dead, but you just turn up like this alive and well! Not only that, but you’re attempting to start a war against the entire Remnant for all I know! What the heck happened to you?!”

“Life happened,” Cinder snapped. “I don’t know about you, but I hate this world we live in. I’m going to make sure it burns to the ground, and everything I’m doing is nothing more than a means to that end. The world took everything away from me, so I’m merely exacting revenge. Does that answer your question, _little brother_?”

“Why?” Sapphire asked. “Why are you doing this? You used to be… _we_ used to be better than this!”

“Because this world is unfair, Sapphire,” Cinder replied. “This world took away our parents. Are you not unhappy about that? Are you fine with losing mom and dad without ever getting to see them?”

“No, I…”

“Then shut up and do as you’re told,” Cinder told him. “Don’t think. Obey. Just act, and that’s enough. Think you can do that?”

Sapphire stared at her. The woman in front of him was powerful, dangerous – an existence worlds apart from the sister he remembered. Yet, in her eyes, there was a rather nostalgic sense of pain and loss. A loss that had not diminished even after reuniting with him. Had it been his weakness that caused this?

“… yes,” he replied.

“Good,” she said. “Get ready your things; we’re leaving this academy tonight.”

-

Sapphire pushed open the door and stepped into the room. He said not a word to anyone, and simply walked over to his spot in the room and sat down. 

_What on Remnant am I doing?_ He chastised himself. _Why am I doubting her? I know she’s doing this because she was betrayed; I was the same way after all. I should be fine with her plans, and I should have no qualms about doing what she says. So why am I freaking out about this?_

“Sapphire?”

Jumping a little at the sudden call, Sapphire looked up and into a pair of big, silver eyes.

“What’s wrong, Rose?” he asked. He had still yet to apologize for yelling at her, but he was far too preoccupied to care at this point. “You need help with homework?”

“No, that’s covered,” Ruby replied, as Weiss loudly groaned in the background. “I have a great tutor.”

“Uh huh,” Sapphire said. “So what’s the matter?”

“Is something troubling you?” Ruby asked. “I’m sorry if I’m bothering you, and if I’m being too much of a pain in the neck I’ll back off but… I just wanted to know if there was something I could do to help.”

Sapphire considered her words for a moment. Rose was young and inexperienced, but she did have a unique intuition. Maybe it was a woman thing, but she could be unexpectedly sharp at times. Not to mention she had Yang for a sibling.

“Then I’ll take you up on that offer,” he said, getting to his feet. “Come on; let’s talk somewhere more private.”

“I swear, Saph, if you even dare to make a move on Ruby-”

“ _Yang!_ ”

-

Sapphire did not take Ruby far; the moment they left the room, he simply closed the door and stood in the hallway, a rather confused yet concerned Ruby in front of him. He was starting to question his sagacity in asking a little kid the problem he had in mind.

“So, Rose,” he said.

“Ruby’s fine, you know,” Ruby said, a little annoyed.

“You and Yang are family, right?” he asked. 

“Yeah,” Ruby replied, raising an eyebrow.

“I have a question,” Sapphire said slowly. “If, let’s say… Yang was to commit a crime. What would you do when you find out?”

“Huh?”

“Actually, forget that,” he said hastily. “Forget I asked.”

He turned to leave, and was halfway down the corridor when Ruby spoke up, instantly halting him in his tracks:

“I-I’d stop her!”

He paused. Turning around and furrowing his brows, he wordlessly told her to continue.

“I… I don’t think she’d ever do such a thing,” Ruby said. “But if she really did, then she must have had her reasons… So I’d stop her, and talk things through with her! No matter what happens, she’s still my sister after all. If I don’t stand by her side, who will?”

_No matter what happens, she’s still my sister after all._

“You really have a knack for knowing the situation,” he muttered. Maybe Rose already knew his situation, but was keeping it from him on purpose. 

“What?” Ruby asked. “Did you say something?”

“No, it’s nothing,” Sapphire replied, walking away. “Forget that question. It’s not something you need to worry about.”

 _We won’t ever see each other again anyway,_ he finished inside his head.

-

Sapphire checked his weapons, making the final adjustments before he returned them to their block forms. When that was done, he moved on to checking the condition of Lifesaver, making sure to go through every angle and every individual part.

“Can you hurry it up?” Emerald asked irritably. “We’re short on time, you know.”

“I need to make sure my gear is in top condition,” Sapphire replied. “If you’re in a hurry, you can go ahead. Cinder already left, didn’t she?”

“I have to make sure you-” Emerald began.

The sound of hurried footsteps interrupted her sentence, and a flustered Ruby ran into the empty courtyard. Emerald instantly drew her weapons, but Sapphire held out a hand to stop her. It was almost midnight, and everyone was fast asleep. For her to be at the courtyard at this hour meant only one thing: Ruby was not here by chance.

“-don’t do something like this,” Emerald finished. 

“I didn’t do this,” Sapphire replied, then turned to Ruby. “Why’re you here?”

“You… didn’t come back,” Ruby panted. “So I… came to look for you…”

Catching her breath, Ruby finally noticed the bag slung on Sapphire’s shoulder. That, and the mask on Emerald’s face. No matter how naïve she was, even she could tell that something shady was going on between them.

“… Are you going somewhere?” she asked.

“It doesn’t concern you,” Sapphire replied flatly. “Go back, Rose.”

“I can’t just do that!” Ruby exclaimed. “Weren’t we going to take down Torchwick together? Why do you suddenly have to leave?”

He should have just lied. He could have just kept silent. There were so many ways he could have dealt with the situation, but Sapphire ended up choosing the most stupid way out: he told her the truth.

“I’ve found my sister,” he said. “So I’m going to go with her.”

A heavy silence followed his words, leaving a stunned Ruby to soak in the meaning behind those words. She stared at him, speechless, her mouth moving to form random words.

“You… really?” she gasped. “You really found her?”

“Yes,” Sapphire deadpanned. 

“That’s great,” Ruby said, smiling. Despite everything that was wrong with the situation at hand, she was _smiling_. “That’s really great.”

 _What’s wrong with you?_ He asked inside his head. _Can’t you see there’s something wrong? Why do you believe me so easily?_

“So yeah, that’s it,” he said. “I’m going to go.”

“W-wait!” Ruby called out.

“You’re getting on my nerves,” Sapphire growled, raising Duskfall’s crossbow form. “Stop bugging me, Rose.”

And once again, Ruby betrayed his expectations; instead of looking shocked, afraid or hurt, she merely looked calm. Even though she was unarmed in front of a trained mercenary with a loaded weapon, she was not frightened in the least.

“Turn around and leave,” he said. “Or else I’ll shoot.”

Ruby did not move.

“Hey, Sapphire,” she said. “Take good care of her, okay? Don’t let her go this time.”

Sapphire could feel his hands tremble from the weight of his weapon. His legs, despite the support provided by Lifesaver, felt weak, almost unable to support him. 

“Don’t…” he muttered. “Stop doing that… Don’t act as if you know everything, dammit!”

He let loose the arrow. With a soft clicking sound, the crossbow in his hands shot out his projectile, soaring through the night air and towards Ruby’s forehead. It was fast, but not enough to catch someone like her off guard. It was small, but it could surely pierce into her skull with its tip. It was a weapon that had supported him for years, and one which Ruby had seen many times before. She knew what it could do.

But she did not dodge.

Slamming into her forehead and bouncing off, the flat-headed arrow ricocheted off her skull, eliciting a pained yelp from Ruby. The harmless arrow bounced along the ground, rolling on the asphalt without doing any more damage. Compared to the countless things he had done before, this was a joke of an attack.

“… Why didn’t you dodge?” he asked.

“You’re not a killer,” Ruby replied simply, as though it was something common sense. “Why would I need to dodge?”

“Sapphire,” Emerald snarled. “We’re leaving.”

Sapphire nodded, but did not move for a few moments. Giving Ruby one last look, he turned away and ran, eventually disappearing into the night. He did not have to say anything, but that was alright; after all, Ruby was not foolish enough to follow them right now.

Ruby watched them go, a faint throb in her chest and a clearer one in her forehead. She had had much more to say, but when she saw the look in Sapphire’s eyes, she had tossed aside all of those words. This was, as he had wordlessly conveyed, something he needed time by himself to solve. Regardless of how reluctant she was to see a friend go, Ruby had to put aside those sentiments; she could not force him to choose between them and her sister after all.

… Or so she thought, until the arrow Sapphire shot at her moments before started beeping.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it’s moving a little too fast, but I figured if I made it too slow it’d be a drag to read. Hope this chapter didn’t make things too confusing for you guys, and see you in the next one!
> 
> Oh, and it hurt me to write this chapter. The exchange between Saph and Cinder was kinda... Yeah.


	6. Out of Time

He threw the empty can across the room, and watched it slam against the wall instead of flying into the trashcan. Sighing as the miserable aluminum container rolled across the ground, Sapphire did not bother getting up to retrieve it.

He was in a hospital, so naturally there were things he was not supposed to do. Normally, for the sake of not attracting attention, he would have just thrown his rubbish like a normal guy, but today was not a day where he cared. Who could, after receiving news like that?

“What’s on your mind?” 

He almost jumped. He had recognized Blake Belladonna’s voice right away, but the very fact that she was here still startled him. Turning to look at the Faunus – who looked like she was halfway to becoming a mummy – he raised an eyebrow.

“That a fashion statement?” he asked, smirking. Acting friendly – or anything besides how he actually felt – was a breeze for him, and there were even days when he thought it was too easy. He had always found it a convenience before, but now Sapphire could not bring himself to find comfort in that ability. 

“Very funny,” Blake rolled her eyes as she boxed him on the shoulder. “You don’t look much better, you know.”

“Heh, I’m used to this,” Sapphire replied lightheartedly as Blake sat down next to him. “How’s Yang?”

“Out cold, but alright otherwise,” Blake said. “She’ll be fine.”

“And Rose?”

“Her surgery went without a hitch,” Blake replied. “She’s sleeping right now, and Weiss is with her. Luckily, the bullet wounds weren’t fatal, but she’ll be needing lots of rest.”

“I see,” Sapphire heaved a long sigh, leaning back against his chair. “I swear, you lot are nothing but trouble…”

“You’re one to talk,” Blake jabbed, but then she smiled. “Thanks for stopping Yang. Who knows what would have happened if you didn’t step in.”

Sapphire did not reply. He would have made a joke about Yang killing Junior if she had kept going, but there was no way Blake would have appreciated that sort of joke. He struggled to think of something else to say, but with his mind a jumbled mess of the same old words, nothing came out.

_If you continue using Lifesaver, you will die._

He did not even bother pointing out the irony in that line when the doctor told him. It was not news, either; he had always known that Lifesaver was merely prolonging his life, not actually saving him. At best, it slowed the ‘decay’ left by Adam’s attack, and was by no means a cure. The more he fought, the more he used Combat Mode, the faster that decay spread. Those were the conditions he had come to accept when he first sought revenge, and he had long since resigned himself to a pathetic death.

So why was it affecting him so much now?

If he wanted to live, he had but one choice – accept the surgery and forever step away from fighting forever. In exchange for continuing to draw breath, he would have to give up… what, exactly? He had defeated Mercury. He had made a truce with Blake. He had defeated Adam. What did he have left at this point that made him hesitate?

“Something on your mind?” Blake asked. 

“M-Migraine,” Sapphire replied hastily. “I’ve been pummeled a few times by Yang, after all.”

“Hmm,” Blake nodded, though she hardly seemed convinced by his answer. 

“Anyway, how about we go see the sisters first?” Sapphire asked. “We’re due to be transported back to Beacon’s infirmary soon, aren’t we?”

“Right, that…” Blake groaned. “I’m not looking forward to Goodwitch’s interrogation…”

“Meh,” Sapphire said, getting to his feet. “Come on, let’s-”

“Hold on.”

He paused. The tone in her voice had changed, and the look in Blake’s eyes became sharper. Unable to help himself, Sapphire stepped back instinctively, keeping his eyes on the Faunus.

“I need to ask you something,” Blake began. “In that battle with Yang… When you were… strangling… Ruby... How did you break out of it?”

Sapphire narrowed his eyes. He could not really blame her for that question, but at the same time, he did not want to answer it either; part of him could not understand how he had managed it either, and part of him was unwilling to think why that was.

“I don’t know,” he replied in the end. “I was in Combat Mode, so the pain was clouding my thoughts. I don’t really remember what happened.”

“… I see,” Blake replied, standing up and walking ahead. “Come on, I’ll take you to their room.”

And with that, their conversation ended. Even without someone spelling it out and without Pat jamming witty remarks into his ears, Sapphire could tell that Blake did not buy his lie for even a moment.

Why am I so easy to read? He wondered. I’m a trained mercenary, for crying out loud…

Those thoughts vanished as he followed Blake into the room, and coming face-to-face with a pair of girls he had never expected to see in that state; wrapped in bandages and without their trademark energy, the sisters Ruby and Yang lay asleep on their beds-

“But Weiiiisss….”

Ruby’s whine made Sapphire want to sigh and laugh at the same time. Opening her eyes and looking at her partner with the professional expression of an adorable puppy, Ruby continued to beg.

“It’s just one…” she pleaded.

“For the last time, no,” Weiss snapped. For a wounded person, she still had a sharp tone. Granted, she was the least injured amongst them, but from the looks of it she might as well have been perfectly healthy. “You need to rest, and rest you will.”

“What’s wrong?” Blake asked, raising an eyebrow. 

“She wants cookies,” Weiss sighed, glaring at Sapphire as he tried desperately to keep a straight face. “She was almost shot in the stomach, too.”

“But I wasn’t,” Ruby complained. “I’m fiiine, Weiss! Just one, okay? Pleeeeease? I’m totally fine!”

“You’re fine?” Weiss repeated. Reaching out and hovering a finger over Ruby’s stomach, she proceeded to bring it down. “So it doesn’t hurt there anymore?”

“What’re you- Ow!” Ruby twitched. “T-that’s not- Ow! Stop poki- oww! I-I get it, Weiss! Ouch! I-I get it! Oww! Stop poking me! Please!”

“That’s better,” Weiss said, sounding rather satisfied. “I knew you would see sense in the end.”

“I was just trying to lighten the mood…” Ruby muttered under her breath.

“Ruby, you having a sugar rush and leveling the hospital isn’t going to lighten anything,” Blake said exasperatedly. “Don’t just stand there, Sapphire; say something.”

“And make sure you back us up,” Weiss added dangerously.

“Er…” Sapphire could feel the tension building up in the small room. Ruby was looking at him with tear-filled eyes, while Weiss was giving him a glare so sharp he thought his stitches might have reopened just by being exposed to her. “W-well… We’re all still alive, so we should take it easy?”

“What’s with that cliché comment?” Weiss asked. 

“I tend to lack creativity when my life’s in danger, thank you very much,” Sapphire retorted. “Anyway, Rose: how’re you feeling?”

“Hungry,” Ruby pouted. Then, noticing the expression on Weiss’s face, instantly changed her reply. “I-I mean, I’m fine. I just need a little rest, that’s all. The doctor said Yang will be waking up any time now, too. How’re you feeling?”

“I’m dandy,” Sapphire replied. “I’m the toughest here, after all. My treatment’s longer only because of Lifesaver’s maintenance.”

“Are you sure?”

Sapphire froze. He felt like he had just said something he should not have, and some dirty secret had been revealed because of it all of a sudden. Rose’s strange insight was nothing new, but it was unnerving as always.

“W-what do you mean?” he asked.

“You seem kind of troubled,” Ruby replied. “Did something happen? Are you hurt?”

“O-of course I’m hurt; I was fighting,” Sapphire stammered. “I’m perfectly fine; don’t worry about-”

The world suddenly slid out of focus, and darkness instantly invaded his vision. Losing all strength in his body, Sapphire felt his legs give way under his weight. Before he even registered what was going on, he was falling, with the ground rushing to meet him at an alarming speed. In his dazed state, all that went through his mind was a simple sentence:

_If you continue to fight, you will lose your life._

And then, nothing. Giving in to the allure of silence, Sapphire shut his heavy eyelids. He was tired all of a sudden, and as his consciousness faded he could hear the familiar voices of three girls. They sounded worried, but he was unable to care; his mind was swimming with jumbled words and thoughts, and even they were drowned out by the darkness.

When he woke up in Beacon’s infirmary later, he no longer recalled that exchange.

-

Roman Torchwick was, if anything, not a patient man. Sure, he could wait a few days or weeks when it came to executing plans, but he hated waiting. Nothing felt better than instant gratification, and nothing irked him more than to be left empty-handed. That of course, extended to information and not just money, particularly when it came to a woman who loved to keep him in the dark.

“I see you’ve brought a new friend,” he sneered, hardly trying to hide his contempt. They may have been partners, but there were no warm, fuzzy feelings between him and Cinder Fall. 

“You can ignore him,” Cinder replied crisply. Sapphire was not exactly far away from them, but she could not bring herself to care if he overheard their conversation or not. “He’s just a pawn I stole from their side. He’s no threat to us.”

Torchwick was by no stretch of the imagination Cinder’s friend, but even he could discern the contempt in her voice. While it was not something new to be working with someone you hate (his partnership with Cinder was proof of that) in this profession, to hear the great Cinder Fall express such open dislike of someone was rare.

 _Must be an interesting specimen,_ he mused. “He looks familiar.”

“Yeah, I killed a bunch of your guys,” Sapphire said rather calmly. “I was also hired by you to steal Dust and weapons at some point.”

Torchwick narrowed his eyes at the blue-eyed mercenary, unsure of what he should make of that comment. The kid was in an unknown enemy hideout without any support, and he was spouting things that would get him ripped to shreds right then and there. He was either fearless, or he was a complete idiot.

“Cinder, I need to talk to you,” Emerald said. “Do you have a minute?”

“Of course,” Cinder replied, walking off with her subordinate. She did not even cast a glance at Sapphire as she went.

“So you’re the replacement for that arrogant kid?” Torchwick wondered aloud, lighting a cigar. “Terrible taste, she has.”

With a soft, barely audible sound, the front half of the cigar fell from Torchwick’s fingers and onto the ground. Pausing for an instant, Torchwick backed away from Sapphire, who had his weapons deployed.

“I’m fine with you flapping your gums,” the former mercenary said. “It’s all you’re good for. But if you’re going to insult Cinder, you better be ready to forfeit your life.”

“Little kids these days just don’t know their place,” Torchwick sighed, spitting out the remaining half of his cigar. “You need to be taught a lesson, don’t you?”

“I never attended school, old man,” Sapphire replied, watching Torchwick slightly raise his cane. He was holding it high enough to react to an attack, but not high enough to launch one of his own. The man was waiting for him to make a move. “Though if you’re so keen, I can most certainly oblige by setting your hair on fire.”

“A little too eager, are we, boys?” 

Before Torchwick could reply, Cinder stepped in, a look of controlled anger on her face. Giving a small nod to Emerald, she walked over to Sapphire and put a hand on his shoulder. 

“We need to talk,” she said, her tone allowing for no arguments. The look in her eyes was dangerous, sure, but Sapphire was more surprised by the utter disgust in them. It was as though she was looking at an exceptionally ugly Grimm. “Right now.”

“Got it,” Sapphire replied, instantly sheathing his weapons.

-

“Emerald tells me you were followed,” Cinder said loftily. “And she also tells me you let her go without killing her.”

“That is correct,” Sapphire replied. They were in a room for briefing or something by the looks of it, and they were currently the only two occupants in it. While it gave them space to themselves, it also laid Sapphire bare to the hostility pouring out of his sister. “If we killed her, it’d have drawn a lot of unwanted attention to us.”

“And you thought leaving her alive wouldn’t?” Cinder questioned.

“She’s not stupid enough to follow,” Sapphire answered. “Besides, even if she tells anyone about it, no one would help her get to us; I’m an expendable asset to begin with, and having me out of Beacon puts less of their students at risk. Surely Ozpin’s smart enough to know that.”

Cinder fought the urge to bash his face in. His reasoning might have been sound, in a way, but it did not change the fact that he may have very well endangered their operation. If they managed to find this hideout, Ozpin’s fighters could really slow their plans down. Not that they would be able to stop them.

“Listen to me,” she warned. “I don’t care what you think you know, but you’re not the one in charge. I am. You do what I say and you don’t be a smartass. Don’t think. Obey. Are we clear?”

“… Crystal,” Sapphire replied. “Sorry, sis.”

“Don’t call me that,” Cinder snapped. Then, remembering that he was under her ‘suggestion’, added, “We’re in the middle of a mission. Refer to me as ‘Cinder’ and nothing else.”

Sapphire looked into her eyes. Searched them. Bore into them in the hopes of finding something he prayed was there. But he found nothing.

He had fresh blood on his hands. He had far too many crimes to his name. He had committed too many sins to count, but he had done for her. Now that she was finally here, he was unable to find any of the comfort he had believed he would feel. 

He had been fine with taking lives. He had become accustomed to drowning in the blood of his victims. But that same world he had long since accepted had tainted his sister. His family. His one anchor to whatever sanity he still retained. It had irrevocably corrupted her.

So he had to tear that world down. Even if it meant dying, and even if it meant that she would curse his name, he had to demolish the path Cinder intended to walk. 

But he could not do it alone.

“Understood,” Sapphire answered.

 _I’m leaving it in your hands, Rose,_ he pleaded in his head.

-

“So let me get this straight.”

Ruby Rose, brought before the imperial judge of all Heaven and Hell, whimpered. She was pretty sure she could see flames behind said demon, but that could very well be just her imagination. Just maybe.

“You went after him yourself after seeing him with a clearly suspicious person.”

She briefly wondered how the wooden desk the judge rested its hands on was not catching fire.

“Y-yes,” she croaked.

“And you did not think to inform us.”

Scratch that: it was a wonder the world was not ash by now.

“N-no.”

“So you chased them and even confronted them.”

“Y-yes.”

“You did not put up any resistance when he pointed a weapon at you, when you could very well have died.”

“B-but Sapphire wouldn’t-”

“ _Answer the question, Ruby Rose._ ”

“Y-yes, I did.”

“I see,” Weiss Schnee concluded. “Do you have any last words?”

“Um… I’m sorry?” Ruby tried, offering her best impersonation of a wounded puppy.

“Restrain me,” Weiss told Blake and Yang. “Or I may really kill her.”

“Calm down, Weiss,” Blake tried, though she too was keeping her distance. “Take a look at this. It should be your area of expertise.”

“What is this?” Weiss snapped, snatching the small cylindrical object from her teammate. Her anger dissipated somewhat almost instantly. “This is… It’s Aura-sensitive.”

“Okay…” Yang drawled. “What is that, and what does that mean?”

“How did you make it to Beacon?” Weiss asked incredulously.

“I kick ass,” Yang replied simply, shrugging. 

“And they just-” Weiss began, then looked at Ruby. “Never mind. Anyway, this thing is calibrated to react to Aura and activate only when it comes into contact with it. It’s set to high-sensitivity, so the target doesn’t even have to activate his or her Aura for it to work. And that dolt activated it when it made contact with her overly large forehead.”

“It’s just the right size…”

“Wait,” Blake said. “So it wouldn’t have worked if Ruby had dodged the arrow?”

“It’s likely,” Weiss nodded. “Something this sensitive would likely not work if it hit the ground without first coming into contact with Aura.”

“Does that mean Sapphire was hoping Ruby wouldn’t dodge?” Yang asked.

The room was silent for a few minutes.

“Well, let’s see what he wants,” Weiss said, pressing what seemed to be the only button on the arrow.

With a soft beeping sound, a beam of light shot out of the arrow tip and expanded. Appearing before them from the small object was a holographic map of Vale, or rather a part of it. On it were two glowing spots – one in Beacon, exactly where they were standing, and one in…

“Where do you suppose this is?” Yang asked, but she was smirking.

“I guess it means ‘come here and kick my butt’ in cheeky mercenary language,” Blake sighed.

“I’m going to do a lot worse than that to him when I get my hands on him,” Weiss snarled.

Ruby, on the other hand, was beaming.

“Well, let’s go find him!” she chirped. 

They had nothing to convince them that that was where Sapphire would be, or if it was in any way going to help them find him. Yet, as the four girls of Team RWBY stood there looking at the map, they found no reason to think otherwise. 

Maybe, as Sapphire would have suspected, this was the ‘trust’ thing Ozpin was talking about.


	7. Red vs Blue Pt.1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello there! Sorry for the super long period of nothing, but for the time being I’m back, so… yay?
> 
> Yeah, I got nothing. Moving on!

“Stop!”

With all the grace of a small boy tripping over his new hoverboard, Ruby Rose landed on her butt and proceeded to catch her breath. Her instructor, who was somewhat winded as well, leaned against a tree and muttered a series of curse words in a foreign language.

“S-so?” Ruby panted. “How was that?”

“Better,” Sapphire replied. “But you’re still relying on your Semblance too much. You have the tendency to use it whenever you get nervous or when you panic. Not a good habit to be having.”

“B-but if I just stand there, I’m a sitting duck,” Ruby protested.

“That’s why you don’t panic,” Sapphire explained. “Counter or back away, but don’t do anything to reveal your Semblance. Once your opponent even sees it, they’ll be on the alert for it.”

“Are you sure it’ll work?” Ruby asked. “I mean, Blake once told me hers didn’t really faze Torchwick even though she had sprung it on him suddenly, and it didn’t… well… seem to work on you either…”

“Right. That,” Sapphire muttered. “For one thing, while I don’t know about Torchwick, I’m an experienced fighter. At least more so against humans – or Faunus, I guess,” he added under his breath, “than the average Huntsman or Huntress. We tend to be more cautious during combat due to often being outnumbered, and even if she did use a clone she never left our line of sight, so it was easier for us to adapt. That’s where you come in.

“Your Semblance can allow you to instantly attack a person’s blind spot,” he went on, tapping the nape of his neck. “Like here. If you time it right, you’ll catch your opponent off-guard and be able to finish them right away. It’s a one-off, since any attempts after that would be thwarted by your enemy due to knowing your intention and means. That’s why you need to watch the timing. Got it?”

 _Well, it’s a one-off because you’re supposed to kill the opponent, but whatever,_ he finished in his head.

“Um…” Ruby mumbled. “Sapphire pinched the bridge of his nose. This was why he was not a lecturer at Beacon.

“Pick the right moment, speed up behind them, slice the neck,” he stated.

“… How will I know the timing?” Ruby asked. She was clearly bothered by the notion of slashing someone’s neck, but Sapphire let it slide; everyone had to start somewhere after all. “And what if they’re protected by their Aura?”

“Not bad,” Sapphire nodded. “As far as timing is concerned, it’s when your opponent can react to your moves without delay. When it feels like they can predict your moves, that’s when they’ve become accustomed to your movements and current speed. That’s when the sudden burst of speed makes them unable to react to you immediately. As for Aura, most people will apply it to their blind spots, but since your weapon type and fighting style rely on momentum, with your speed it shouldn’t be difficult to break through. Even if it doesn’t, it’ll be a clean hit that can send them flying and make them dazed. A win-win.”

“O-kay…” Ruby said, dragging out the ‘o’. Sapphire had a habit of going on and on, and she was not one for asking him to repeat or clarify.

“Besides,” Sapphire added. “I modified the blade a little so it could hack through Aura, so there’s that.”

“Um…” Ruby furrowed her brow. “You did what to my scythe?”

“I strengthened the blade,” Sapphire shrugged, neglecting to mention that the actual method was illegal in nature. “But, more importantly…”

He stopped speaking at that point, instead trudging over to Ruby and bending down. With his face just inches away from a very confused Ruby, he went on with a fierce look in his eyes:

“This is something you need to know,” he said. “This weapon – Crescent Rose – is something that can now take the lives of people. Do you understand what that means?”

Ruby did not respond, but the look in her eyes told him she had heard every word.

“It means that one swing from you can rob someone of everything they once had,” he said. “A well-timed blow, and a family could lose a member. One simple slash, and it could mean one less person would walk this Remnant. A simple, meaningless thing called ‘victory’ is acquired at the cost of a part of your soul – and it’ll never come back because you’ve committed the greatest taboo of taking a life. You’ll have tainted your humanity with the blood of people just like you. Are you alright with that?”

Silence. For a few slow, tense seconds, blue met silver as Ruby returned his gaze. He did not look away, and (surprisingly enough) neither did she. When he thought he had seen something click in her eyes, Sapphire opened his mouth to speak, but Ruby beat him to it.

“I’ll do it.”

No hesitation. No wavering. No fear. Her answer was so clear Sapphire was actually taken aback. He briefly wondered if he had been seeing things – at least until he saw the slightest of unease reflected in her irises.

“Why?” he asked. It was not so much questioning her determination, but rather one asking for the reason for her acceptance.

“I… trust you,” Ruby replied. “And I want to understand what you’re going through.”

“… What’s there to understand?” Sapphire asked dismissively. “I’ve killed. I’ve committed the sins no person should, and I’m training you to do the same. I’m a killer. There’s nothing in me for you to trust, and there’s nothing you can understand.”

_There was, and always will be a difference between killers and Hunters._

“You’re-”

“You didn’t kill Yang.”

Sapphire froze.

“… What?”

“Blake told us about it,” Ruby explained. “She told us about how you fought to save Yang, and how you tried to keep your Semblance under control. With your experience and abilities, you could easily have killed Yang. But you didn’t.”

“That’s not-”

“Even when you were obsessed with killing Blake, you didn’t finish her off in your fight.”

“That’s… I… That’s not it. It doesn’t change the fact that-”

“You didn’t kill me when you lost control of your Semblance either.”

Sapphire said nothing; at this point, there was already nothing left for him to say.

He had sunk deep into oceans of blood, letting it engulf him in the screams of his victims. He had gotten far too used to the act of killing – of taking a life – that his body no longer shook whenever he fought. He no longer flinched whenever he killed.

And yet, he was unable to refute her words.

She was undoubtedly just a child. She was a kid who probably aspired to be a hero or something equally unrealistic. She had no idea what it meant to kill, to fight against other people instead of monsters. She did not know what it meant to be a monster herself. Maybe that was why he admired her. Maybe her innocence was just that dazzling.

Maybe he still carried with him a fragment of hope within the pitch-black miasma of his soul.

He remembered the small house and its cold, concrete floors. He recalled the nights he spent embraced by his sister’s warmth, seeking comfort from her gentle words. Back then, he had been nothing more than an ordinary child, unable and unwilling to understand the harshness of reality. Back then, he too had been a naïve little kid like Ruby. 

How did they end up so different?

“Sapphire?” Ruby asked.

“Ah, yeah,” Sapphire coughed. “Anyway. Rose. Your-”

“Ruby.” 

“… What?”

“Ruby,” she repeated. “Call me Ruby. You call everyone else by their name, just not me.”

“‘Blake’ is just shorter than ‘Belladonna’, ‘Weiss’ is because she has a sister, and I don’t call blondie by her name,” Sapphire replied in perfect deadpan. It was so bad Ruby did not even point out that he had outright lied about Yang.

“… You totally rehearsed that, didn’t you.” She said. She did not even have to make it a question.

“… Yes, I did,” Sapphire admitted.

“So when’re you gonna call me ‘Ruby’ like everyone else?”

“Maybe one of these days,” Sapphire replied dismissively. “When you become someone who can kick my ass, perhaps.”

-

He stared ahead, his mind lost in its own world while his hands tinkered with his weapon. He had already gotten used to the motions he had to make when maintaining Daybreak and Duskfall, so he hardly bothered to concentrate. Instead, he just let his fingers go through the motions they had become accustomed to.

Nothing felt right. Even though everything was as it should be, and even though there was no room for doubt, Sapphire found himself questioning everything that was currently happening.

In the short few days he had been here, he had seen quite a bit. Not nearly enough to know the situation inside-out – he had Torchwick to thank for that – but enough to give him a rough idea.

In essence, this place was a den of criminals. Thieves. Murderers. People who worked for money, or something equally pointless. They were, in short, people like Sapphire. They were akin to mercenaries, but they were mostly grunts who had, on an individual level, about enough skill to piss off a Grimm and that was it. They were hired labour. Disposable pawns. Nothing special about them.

And yet, he could not help but want to burn them – along with their hidey-hole – to the ground.

He could not explain it. He understood that they were like him, right down to being paid guns who could be thrown aside without consideration. They were killers and liars, just like he had been, like he was, but he could not find himself able to ignore that.

These people were murderers. Robbers. And so they had to die. Since when had he started to think like that?

 _Something’s wrong,_ he thought. _Something’s definitely wrong._

Sapphire had, every now and then, entertained the thought of regret. He had, on the nights he sprang out of his bed drenched in sweat, wanted to run away from it all. But he had never once abhorred another person for doing what he had. He had never questioned others for committing the crimes he had once committed. But now, that lack of concern was replaced by a distinct sense of repulsion. Ever since he had found his sister, the nagging feeling gnawing at the back of his head simply refused to go away.

He had been fighting all this while out of hate, out of grief. Now that his sister – the reason for all that despair – was alive, what was he fighting for?

“What’s with the face?”

The familiar voice which he had, until recently, longed to hear broke his train of thought. Without changing the solemn look on his face, Sapphire turned to look at his sister who, despite having a small smile on her face, looked pretty annoyed.

“Don’t like it here?” she asked, her tone bearing a semblance of curiosity. There was something about her tone that bothered him, but Sapphire ignored it.

“Oh no, I love it here,” he replied, sarcasm lacing his plastic smile. “There’s nothing I like better than to be around murderers and thieves.”

No retort came. Cinder either did not know what to say, or knew there was a punch-line and was waiting for it. Unperturbed, Sapphire went on.

“I had a dream the other night,” he said. “A dream about when we were kids. I’d talk about the nightmares I had of mom and dad dying, and you’d comfort me somehow. And I’d always calm down, too. It was like magic.”

Cinder froze. Sapphire, however, did not notice that detail. Instead, he hummed a soft tune. 

“I used to think the song was sad,” he said. “I wanted to believe like any other kid that heroes wouldn’t die. But now, I realize that a part of me is hoping for the opposite. Odd, isn’t it? I used to look up to heroes so much… And now I’m wishing they would just disappear.

“I guess that’s normal and all, considering we’re the villains now,” he finished, staring straight into Cinder’s eyes.

“W-what are you-” Cinder stammered.

“I know what the good are for, sis,” Sapphire interjected. “I’ve used similar stuff before. Hard to justify having those things around, not to mention the Dust…”

“Not that,” Cinder said sharply. There was something in her eyes now; something akin to panic. “You… how do you know those things? About the nightmares and that song…”

“What’re you talking about?” Sapphire asked. “Of course I know. It was the only part of my life where I had a family. How could I possibly forget?”

For a split moment, the face Cinder was looking at changed. For that brief instant, that face which had looked like that of a fierce beast became… human. The moment he said those words, Sapphire Fall’s expression had become that of a person’s. That of a little boy whom Cinder knew very well. 

“But… no…” Cinder muttered. “You can’t be… You can’t…”

Sapphire opened his mouth to speak, but the rumbling of a distant explosion cut him off. The resulting alarm did not exactly help with the conversation either.

“Well, I guess this is it,” he sighed. “This is the part where the heroes storm the stronghold and the villains fall.”

“What did you-”

“Run away, sis,” Sapphire said. “I can’t let you keep doing this thing you’re doing anymore, but I won’t let you rot away in a cell either. So run. And for crying out loud, do something safer. Hunt Grimm or be a teacher or something. I dunno.”

Once more rendered speechless, Cinder Fall simply stared. The young man before her was simply someone she had brainwashed into believing that he was Sapphire, and nothing more. There was no way he could have had those memories unless he had somehow gotten them from Cinder herself. That, or…

_It can’t be. It just can’t…_

“But, well, I won’t be seeing which option you take,” Sapphire said with a bitter smile on his face. “We’ll be parting ways here.”

“… What are you talking about?”

“The heroes still need a villain to crush, sis,” he replied calmly. “And I figured if I’m going to pay for what I’ve been doing up till now, I might as well choose them as my way to go. Now that I know you’re alive, retribution is the only option left.

_I’m a dead man anyway._

In all honesty, he would have been happier with Cinder by his side. He would have wanted to have a family again, and to regain the warmth he had lost all those years ago. But he could no longer wish for that. For a man who no longer valued his own life, Sapphire Fall had nothing left after losing the despair that had been keeping him alive.

As he was right now, Sapphire Fall no longer had a reason to fight anymore.

“See ya, big sis Cinderella,” he said.

Nothing more was said, and nothing more was heard. Throwing himself into the crowd of goons and making for the intruders (even if he already knew who they were), Sapphire went completely silent. Right now, he had nothing more to say, and nothing left to think about. 

The hideout had no chance. With the loss of backup from the Black Fang due to Adam’s death, there was no way Torchwick’s men would be able to defend this place long enough to move all the stuff to another location. This was checkmate, and anyone rushing towards the invaders right now was only heading to their own doom.

 _Dammit,_ he chided himself in his head. _I’m thinking too much again._

But all that no longer mattered. At the end of the road littered with the bodies of countless unconscious goons, he found a familiar face. It was such a familiar face, in fact, that he stopped thinking altogether. 

Cloaked in red and dazzlingly graceful, the petite warrior before him gave the weapon in her hands a cheerful twirl. Even amidst this scene of violence, she was an unmistakable beacon of innocence. Truly, in that moment, she looked… beautiful.

“Rose,” Sapphire said, a strange, nostalgic feeling coursing through his body as he did. Inexplicably, he was actually relieved to see the red reaper before him just then. “Nice to see you again.”

“Hey Saph,” Ruby replied happily, as though they were friends meeting again after a period of absence. As though nothing was wrong. “How’ve you been?”

“Hoarding dangerous explosives and aiding criminals,” Sapphire deadpanned. “And about to get my comeuppance. You?”

“Here to bring you back,” she replied. She actually sounded serious. “You’re attached to our team, you know; Ozpin will scold us if you just ran off.”

“You’ll have to drag this corpse all the way back to Beacon,” Sapphire pointed out. “Will be tough.”

“I’m not-” Ruby began.

“Enough,” Sapphire cut across her. “I came here, and I’m letting the criminals escape even after seeing what they did. There’s already no turning back for me, Rose. I let her get away.”

“But you didn’t let her continue making that mistake,” Ruby assured him.

Silence. Blue met silver, and in the absence of words, conveyed what each side had to say.

“I guess there’s no helping it, is there?” Ruby asked, pointing her beloved Crescent Rose at Sapphire. “I guess I’ll have to fight you then.”

“I have no intention to fight, Rose,” Sapphire reminded her.

“It’s the only way I can understand you.”

“… What?”

“I’m still a rookie Huntress, so I can’t say I know what you’re going through,” Ruby replied. “But at the very least, if I want to help you, I figured I had to see things from your perspective. See things the way you see them. Fight with my life on the line like you have. It’s the only way I can save you.”

“… As usual, you’re a complete mystery,” Sapphire said, activating Daybreak and Duskfall. He had no idea why he decided to humor her in the end, but there was something in her eyes that allowed for no arguments. She was surprisingly stubborn when it came to things like that. “But I suppose that’s what Ozpin saw in you, Ruby.”

“You called me ‘Ruby’,” Ruby pointed out.

“… So I did,” Sapphire replied, getting into a fighting stance. “This will be a fight to kill after all. One of us won’t walk this Remnant ever again after this. It only makes sense to be polite.”

“Are you sure you’re not just shy?” Ruby asked, flashing him a cheeky smile.

“You’re picking up all the wrong things from Yang,” Sapphire sighed, but he too managed a slight smile. 

A slight smile which faded almost immediately when Ruby closed in.


End file.
